So long, and thanks for all the tech

I have been writing about personal technology since the mid-1980s, and now I am going to stop doing that. The time has come to move on.

On May 2, I began a new job at the Houston Chronicle as the Senior Web Producer for Premium Products. What that means: I am now in charge of the Chronicle news products you have to pay for. The editorial parts of HoustonChronicle.com, the paper’s iPad app and the E-Edition are now my responsibility. That’s a BIG job, and it deserves my full attention.

I’ve been writing about computing and personal tech at the Chronicle since 1993, when I started the Computing column. I helped with the startup of Chron.com in the mid-1990s and went to work full-time on that website in 2000. I’ve held a variety of jobs for the online group since then, and continued to write about tech as I did.

But over time as my responsibilities grew, I’ve had to cut back on tech coverage. In the mid-2000s, as I was managing our blog network, I started TechBlog and wrote several posts daily. When I became the Chronicle’s full-time social media manager in 2013, I ended the column and wrote only in the blog, and generally just posted one thing daily. As social media became one of our primary means of getting our content in front of readers – and using it to pay attention to what Houston was talking about – I wrote less and less in this blog.

This new position will require enough focus that it’s time for me to “retire” from writing about tech. This doesn’t mean I’ll abandon it completely. Technology will go back to being my hobby rather than my vocation. In a way, I’m looking forward to paying attention only to those aspects of tech that appeal to me – and not having to write about it in the process.

I also will no longer be a panelist on Leo Laporte’s This Week in Tech. If I’m not keeping up with the latest tech news, it doesn’t seem legit to go on that show and, um, opine about tech news. But thanks for the opportunity, Leo! I had a great time on those many Sunday afternoons.

For now, TechBlog will continue here as an archive. There are also some syndicated features that flow here, such as a recent post about virtual reality headsets. In addition, Chris Brantner, who runs the Houston-based website CutCableToday.com, will occasionally guest-post.

Writing about personal tech has been my life for almost 30 years, so this isn’t easy. What I’ll miss most: the community that built up around TechBlog in its heyday. I learned a lot from you guys, and I’ll definitely miss that. Yes, the best thing about my covering tech has been the human interaction around it.

Thanks, y’all. It’s been a blast.

Dwight Silverman | Techblogger, social media manager

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